F4U-1 Corsair

The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was developed as a counter to the Mitsubishi Zero and as a complement to the Grumman F6F Hellcat. The Corsair was designed primarily for speed, and so had the most powerful engine then available, the Pratt and Whitney R-2800. Because the engine was so huge, the cockpit had to be set back further along the fuselage, and it was given a inverted gull-wing so the propellor could clear the deck without making the landing gear too spindly to absorb hard landings.

Unfortunately, it also made the Corsair devilishly hard to land on a carrier because of the restricted view forward, so early Corsairs went to the Marines for land use. There, it proved to be a superb dogfighter, gaining the moniker "Whistling Death" from the Japanese for the sound the engine made. The top Marine ace, Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, made most of his kills in Corsairs. Eventually it entered the fleet and served with the British Fleet Air Arm as well. Corsairs would go on to fight in Korea (and flown by top Navy ace of that war, Guy Bordelon), and the last combat flown by Corsairs was in the Honduran-El Salvadorean "Soccer War."

This Corsair wears the late US Navy war scheme of dark sea blue. The split white tail color (and green propeller hub) indicates an aircraft from the USS Yorktown (CV-10)--the same carrier in the painting in the background.

This is the 1/72 Academy kit.

(Photo and text by Sentinel 28A.)